Toronto just outranked all of Canada in list of world's best cities

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Toronto just outranked all of Canada in a new list of the world's best cities, beating out other major cities like Vancouver and Montreal.

On Tuesday, global consultancy firm Resonance Consultancy and Ipsos Research released its renowned 2026 World's Best Cities rankings, and Toronto managed to crack the top 20 list at #17.

The report highlights the top 100 most globally influential and economically prosperous cities with populations of more than one million to live, visit, and invest in. Cities are scored based on three categories, namely livability, lovability, and prosperity.

Each category is further divided into metrics — including walkability, weather, air quality, public transit, and health for livability, and nightlife, TikTok videos, restaurants, museums, concerts, and shopping for lovability.

Prosperity metrics include airports, universities, economic output, unemployment rate, and educational attainment.

"The world's great urban centers are the engines of their nations and, increasingly, the global economy. They are the pistons driving the places where people choose to live, work and travel – magnetizing talent, capital and culture," the report reads. "For centuries, these cities have stood as symbols of human ingenuity and vibrancy, shaping the narrative of progress and resilience across continents. Today, they've never mattered more to our collective future."

Toronto is the only Canadian city to appear on the report's top 20 list, and was highlighted for its highly educated population and world-renowned universities.

"Toronto's magnetism starts with its brainpower," the report reads. "They feed centuries-old companies and a humming start-up scene — momentum that keeps the city among the planet's most coveted for immigrants, resulting in a populace where the majority of residents were born outside of Canada."

The city managed to rank #14 in the livability category, #29 in livability, and #15 in prosperity.

"You feel the growth in the skyline: more than 150 tower cranes, a renovated Massey Hall, Renzo Piano's Ontario Court of Justice and Love Park's heart-shaped pond — all catnip for Instagram, where Toronto consistently ranks among the most-posted cities (#13) and firmly atop Google Trends (#18)," the study continues.

"On the city's long-neglected Lake Ontario waterfront, the billion-dollar Port Lands Flood Protection has rerouted the Don River into a new 0.8-mile channel and opened the first 49 acres of Biidaasige Park, with another 15 acres coming online through 2028, cementing Toronto's impressive #21-ranked Nature & Parks. Big stages are next. BMO Field's expansion to host FIFA World Cup 2026 matches is underway, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre pipeline is strengthening citywide events."

Toronto fell two spots compared to 2025's list, where it ranked #15. Prior to this, Toronto ranked #23 on the 2024 list, #24 in 2023, #18 in 2022, and #13 in 2021.

Despite this, Toronto still managed to beat out other Canadian cities that also appeared on the list, including Vancouver at #41 (ranked #5 in air quality and #6 in educational attainment), and Montreal at #46 (ranked #9 in educational attainment and #20 for biking).

Here are the top 10 best cities in the world, according to the study: